(Originally published 1 March 2018.)
Franck Follin-Arbelet said that losses from the frost meant that he did only about 30-35% of a full harvest. The harvesting began on 22 September. There was no red Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru in 2016, and the Aloxe-Corton and Aloxe-Vercots also suffered badly. However, following on the frost, there were no problems with mildew, and as a result, there was no need to do a triage. Whole clusters were used in about 10-20%, he said, but more for volume than anything else.
Franck Follin-Arbelet said that losses from the frost meant that he did only about 30-35% of a full harvest. The harvesting began on 22 September. There was no red Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru in 2016, and the Aloxe-Corton and Aloxe-Vercots also suffered badly. However, following on the frost, there were no problems with mildew, and as a result, there was no need to do a triage. Whole clusters were used in about 10-20%, he said, but more for volume than anything else.
Malolactic fermentations were late, many finishing in spring, but others dragged on until September.
As usual, there is very good quality here, and the best values probably come from the premier cru wines. The wines show the freshness of the vintage, a contrast to the 2015s where it is the power and ripeness that dominate.
2016 Aloxe-Corton
The Aloxe shows red and dark berry fruit and iodide. The wine is fresh and pure with good energy and finesse for an Aloxe. (89-92)
2016 Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Clos du Chapître
The Aloxes-Clos du Chapître has pure red fruits, finesse, and good acidity, energy, and freshness. Loss here in 2016 was about half the crop. (91-94)
2016 Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Les Vercots
This wine was very late to finish malolactic fermentation — after the 2017 harvest. The wine has cassis fruit, freshness, purity, precision with finesse and length. (91-95)
2016 Corton
The Corton is planted on white soils. As a result, it gives an uncharacteristic (for Corton) medium-light body. The wine is pure with red fruits, especially cherries, that are penetrating and long. (92-95)
2016 Corton-Bressandes
Follin-Arbelet’s Corton-Bressandes is more concentrated than the Corton. This wine is pure and intense with great density of dark fruits, length, concentration, and freshness. No frost damage here. (93-96)
2016 Romanée-Saint-Vivant
The Romanée-Saint-Vivant displays red fruits, finesse, and intensity. There’s still a little new oak showing — malos were late and the wine sees 70% new oak. This wine is still very young. Plenty of freshness here. A small amount of loss due to frost. (92-96)
The white wine:
2016 Corton-Charlemagne
This wine has the apply, spicy nose one often finds in young Corton-Charlemagne. The mouth is apply and spicy, too, with a medium-full body, a fair amount of power, and good length. This is a rich, forward wine probably not for more than medium-term aging. (92-95)
And a pair of 2015s from bottle (all 2015s were reviewed from barrel here):
2015 Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Clos du Chapître
The Aloxe-Clos du Chapître has a spicy, cassis nose. The mouth is intense and pure with spicy, ripe (but not overly so) red and dark fruits, and a silk texture. 94/A
2015 Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Les Vercots
The Aloxe-Vercots is fresh in the nose with iodide aromas. The mouth features dark fruits, freshness, power, and a smooth texture. The wine avoids going into overripe territory. 93+/A